The present invention is concerned with a display, such as a commercial sign, with mechanically changeable characters and also concerns a support for the display.
Sometimes a display is at ground level which eases access to the characters on the display for changing them. However, a display, such as a commercial sign located, for example, at an automobile service station, may be at a considerable elevation above the ground so that it can be seen at great distances by motorists driving past. Because of the relative inaccessibility of an elevated display to persons on the ground, the message on the display has typically been a permanent message, not one that would be frequently changed. For example, the brand of gasoline sold at a particular service station might appear on the display, but the unit price of the fuel on that particular day would not appear, because the price might have to be changed too frequently.
For working on a very tall display, a person can be lifted up to the display or he can use an extension tool to reach the display. Both of these techniques are awkward and require extra equipment for the operator or considerable dexterity of the operator. The inconvenience in operating upon the display may result in the display either not being used at all or being less frequently changed than it should be. Easier access to a quite tall display for changing it is desirable, therefore.
Once access to the display has been attained, it is desirable to be able to readily change the characters or message appearing on the display. For example, where the display is of the price of the product being sold, such as gasoline at an automobile service station, the numerals on the display are changed frequently.
Typically, there is a separate storage bin for each of the characters, and changing the display involves removing one character, replacing it in the correct storage bin and substituting a new character extracted from its storage bin. This requires carrying a container of characters to the display, maintaining the characters correctly in their storage bins, and may require somewhat complex manipulative steps for changing characters. It is helpful to have all of the means needed for changing characters located directly on the display so that no character storage means would be needed. It is also desirable for a tall display or for any display in general to have all of the means needed for changing the characters located at the display itself.
Various displays have been developed with multi-element characters where the characters are defined by a series of variable elements that are carried on a supporting frame. By appropriately arranging the plurality of elements, a particular character appears.
Various multi-element characters, with changeable individual elements for changing the characters, are known, for instance, from U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,357,457; 3,273,270 and 4,024,532. In addition, characters comprised of elements which are changed in position to change the appearance of the elements and thereby change the character viewed are known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,141,473; 3,740,878; 3,949,392; or 4,223,464.